The Play's the Thing
by cookiegoilforever
Summary: When he turned to David and Mush, the words tumbled out of his mouth “How would you boys like to be in a play?” I thought it was all a joke: Medda, asking street rats to perform? [Language. Overuse of Shakespeare]
1. A Midsummer Night's Dream

**-Cookie-**

_My muse, which so far seems to be David, keeps popping up randomly while I try to write, and has been eating at me to write this story, so this is the product of it. And Shakespeare, if this makes you roll over in your grave, I believe I've done my job._

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own or pretend to own _Newsies_ or any characters from that movie. Disney has all rights to both. William Shakespeare owns _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, and I definitely don't own or pretend to own that. Shakespeare also owns _Hamlet, As You Like It_, and any other quotes from his various plays. _

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_**The Play's the Thing**_

**_Chapter 1: A Midsummer Night's Dream_**

_All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players…_

It was about a month after the infamous newsboy strike of 1899, not that I was around for it or anything, when I watched as those same boys- the newsies- spent their evening down at Irving Hall. I couldn't help but smirk at the boys as they gawked and stared at Medda. Sure, she was beautiful, but these guys were just a little too interested in the performer.

But what do I know? I only worked at the Vaudeville Theater, doing simple things like cleaning, mainly after Medda's act. She showed sympathy to me when I met her, and let me have a job at the Hall. It was at these shows that I met the newsies; those boys were favorites of hers. They were the ones who I knew Medda let sneak in through the side doors.

So now as I glanced over at the silly grin on Jack's face and the matching one on David's and Mush's, I have to laugh about how excited they were to watch a woman old enough to be their mother prance around stage in a blindingly pink dress. It's quite humorous, I must say.

But this story is not about that time. No, it's about the following time the boys came down to watch one of Medda's performances. On this occasion, the group was comprised of the boys I already mentioned: Jack, David, Mush and a few other newsies I didn't know. I found myself disappointed that Racetrack wasn't with them. He had a great sense of humor and we got along well the few times we had talked.

Jack had led them through the back entrance as his pal, David followed. Dave acted as if he knew everything about this place since he had already met Medda. Remembering what they had told me about when they first met her, I reminded him that according to Jack's stories it was Les that impressed her. I loved teasing David. I actually thought he was smart and leaning on the cute side, but so fun to taunt. Jack laughed at his embarrassed friend and I started to leave to go do my job. I knew I wasn't supposed to be talking to them, but how could I resist?

Hearing Medda come down the stairs, Jack turned to greet her. After Jack had kissed her hand, Medda turned to me and reminded me what I knew: I wasn't there to talk a group of boys. I lowered my gaze as I tried to hide my face, red with embarrassment, instead turning my attention to the old mop I had reached for. I guess I'm really bad at following directions, because I found myself letting my head, still hanging low, swivel a bit towards the group to watch the boys make spectacles of themselves. They made a few comments as Medda, clearly in a rush, thanked the boys for coming and hurried back to her dressing room. While I watched them file into the theater, I saw their faces again fill with excitement.

The show went well, as far as I could tell. As much entertainment as I got out of thinking how odd the newsies acted around her, I did enjoy watching her perform on stage. After the show, Medda returned to the hall by her dressing room, as did Jack, David, and Mush. Stopping to talk to them, Medda said she had an idea to run past Jack and pulled him aside. I couldn't help but be incredibly interested, so I glanced at David's face to see if it gave way to any information. Suddenly, I heard Jack exclaim something about a 'great idea', and that he'd ask the others what they think.

When he turned to David and Mush, the words tumbled out of his mouth "How would you boys like to be in a play?"

My face looked identical to Mush's shocked expression. It was David who was able to reply: "What, us? Like acting, in front of an audience? Like what Medda does?"

It took all of my willpower not to burst out laughing. _Dave's going to be a showgirl!_

Planted on Medda's face was a huge grin as she explained, "I thought it would be fun for you, since you boys have time after selling your papers. I was thinking something classic, like Shakespeare. If you boys are interested, I will see if it can be arranged."

"Oh, we're interested," Mush said excitedly.

The amusement was gone just then—I could not believe they were all serious. I thought it was all a joke: Medda, asking street rats to perform? I mean, it's not _that_ bad of an idea, but what about how dirty they are in the theater _I_ had to clean?

All my concerns vanished when Medda turned to me. "Christine, there are a few female roles, and I think it would be appropriate to let you participate." Pausing to think, she continued, "We should do _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, so we'll need at least three more girls."

Was it just me, or did she just mention in front of a bunch of boys that we needed three more girls? I did not even want to see the whores they'll bring in. Any respectable woman would not be allowed to do anything like this without daddy dearest holding their hand. _Damn._ _That means I'm not a respectable woman._ Hardly news to me anyway, I spent my time in a skirt and blouse resembling a rag and mop up after a bunch of hoity-toity theater goers. Well, at least it gave me the pennies it took to grab a bed at the girls' lodging house. Sometimes even dinner. A few seconds later, I realized that she was implying that I find the other girls. Okay, so maybe I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes, too.

"Uh, Medda? I think I know a few girls who might be willing."

Had I really just said that? I just volunteered my friends to memorize a ton of lines that some dead guy wrote, all for a woman who wore clothes meant for a woman half her age. They were going to kill me.

I'll admit, I was excited, none the less, so I guessed it could be okay. I liked the newsies; in all reality we're all kind of on the same level: poor, orphaned, kids just trying to get by with some dignity in New York at the turn of the 20th century. The part about dignity was the reason why a couple of my friends and I weren't prostitutes and showgirls. Instead, we hawked anything a teenage girl could hawk besides herself on a Manhattan street. I suppose if I _did_ want to have that lifestyle, I might have been able to, but my face betrayed me with the way its features had developed to be harsh due to my street status. I wouldn't call myself tough; any of the newsies would probably be able to beat me to a pulp, but not without getting a bloody nose or black eye of their own. That'd only be if I ever was actually involved in a fight, so never. I'm still a woman after all.

But the point was my mouth had put me in a situation in which I needed to go find three girls to help with Medda's 'project'. I'm glad that David already has the title of "Walkin' Mouth", or I might be considered for the name.

It took me a second before I realized that I had led the conversation to a dead lull and that Medda had left. I told you, I was slow, sometimes. I liked to justify it as getting lost in my thoughts. Jack whispered something pleadingly to David, who didn't look happy. Jack, however, wore his trademark smirk and I knew that whatever it was that he was saying, he was going to get it. I was right. When Jack was done whispering, David nodded his head and turned to me.

"Christine? I think my sister, Sarah, would be able to do one of the girl's roles," he said in a tone that told all of us that it wasn't _he_ who thought that.

Sarah? The one girl who Jack would take his eyes off Medda for? This couldn't be good; this was going to get complicated. I knew it. But it was one less girl for me to find. And one less friend I had to force to do this with me.

I just smiled and agreed.**

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**And thus, it begins.**

**Thanks to all my amazing beta readers for their fabulous work!**

**-Cookie-**

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	2. Dramatis Personae

**-Cookie-**

_The site won't let me edit very well, so please forgive my make-do pagebreaks._

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_**The Play's the Thing**_

_**Chapter 2: Dramatis Personae**_

…_they have their exits and their entrances…_

I do not want to talk about how I got two more girls to be in the play. I really don't. As it turned out, every girl in the lodging house wanted to be the star of a Vaudeville play. Lucky me, right? It took some time, but I finally narrowed it down to four, and after much decision making (better known as eeney meeney miney moe), it was down to two: Lindsey McDonnell and Jessa Rhian. I guess I choose them because they were the most outgoing, so I figured they'd be okay on stage.

Okay, and maybe the fact that they were my best friends.

August 22 was the first day Medda asked us to come to the theater to begin rehearsal. It ended up being all about casting as Medda figured out whom she wanted playing what role. It occurred to me that Medda has _zero _experience as a director. She's a performer; what more can you really ask of her? In all fairness, it was her idea to have this play in the first place. But really…

"Okay, everyone, are you all excited for this play?" Medda shouted in an effort to get all of us excited. Cheers filled the room, indicating that everyone was eager to begin.

I wondered if they even knew a single thing about Shakespeare, like the fact that he rambles on for pages and pages in a language which is almost impossible to comprehend. That is, unless you were well-versed and studied in the fancy language from the Elizabethan time. And don't think I know all about the guy's work; that was just what Medda had told me in her attempts to convince me that I was indeed capable of memorizing lines.

I hadn't told her that it really wasn't so much the memorizing as it was the stage issue. I wasn't exactly a huge fan of being in front of many people, but I could overcome it if it means spending mass amounts of time with the newsies- without getting in trouble for it. Just as I was picturing the time I would be spending with David, Medda's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Through the times I've met each of you and the descriptions that your friends gave of you all, I've come up with a cast list that I think will work," Medda said, and, if you didn't know any better, you might actually think she knew what she was doing.

However, I truly doubted Medda knew enough about any of us besides maybe Jack and me to fairly cast us. It didn't really matter though, because as far as I knew no one really cared too much about how we got our roles. She could have told us that a monkey chose our parts and we would have been okay with that.

"I've decided to narrow the play down a bit, which included cutting some of the parts. All the main characters are still in, of course. I'll begin with the girls' parts, and then we'll move onto the leads," Medda explained.

She quickly gave us girls our roles: Lindsey as Hermia, Sarah as Titania, and I the part of Helena. Although we hadn't so much as even looked at the script yet, Medda gave us a brief overview of our characters. Basically, Hermia was short and feisty. Helena was a little desperate and taller than Hermia. Titania was the queen of the faeries. I found myself stifling a giggle at that thought. Sarah was sure to be thrilled. When I glanced over at her, the disgusted look on her face confirmed what I had guessed.

Medda didn't take notice of any of our reactions, and told us that we would find out more about their relationships later. She wanted to wait until everyone had their parts. She continued to say that there were four faeries, and she wanted Jessa to play all four. Jessa's eyes widened as Medda spoke. Medda had wanted my best friend to play faeries who had multiple personality disorder. Great. Apparently, Medda continued, they were easy to combine into one part, and Medda hadn't wanted to find three other girls or ask three guys to compromise their masculinity for a role in a play. From what I've heard about Shakespeare, he had boys play girls anyway, even in the lovers' roles. I guess it was a reflection of his own life.

Medda handed the four of us a script and sent us to the side to skim over it. Of course, I did not have the ability to simply ignore what was going on around me, so I watched the boys receive their parts. Jessa and Lindsey joined me in observing, but Sarah's glance alternated between Jack and Medda. I thought she was probably gauging how interested Jack was in Medda. I could see why the green-eyed monster possessed her; Jack wore a cheesy grin directed at the performer. He still hung on her every word as she called out each boy's name, making sure that no one was missing.

They exchanged nervous glances as anticipation filled them. I could understand; it was exciting and nerve-wracking to find out what would be your role. Medda soon answered all their questions as she began the list.

"As I said before, I'll announce the leads first," Medda repeated herself. "Jack!"

"Yes?" He responded, attempting to be charming. Not that that was a far stretch for suave Jack.

"You will be Lysander. Mush, you will be Demetrius."

The process continued until all ten boys had their parts. To be honest, I let my mind wander after the first two, but Medda let me look at her paper with the cast list to see who was which character.

_Dramatis Personae_

_**Lysander **(in love with Hermia)----------Jack_

_**Demetrius **(in love with Hermia)----------Mush_

_**Helena **(in love with Demetrius)-----------Christine_

_**Hermia** (daughter to Egeus, in love with Lysander)------Lindsey_

_**Oberon **(king of the faeries)----------Spot_

_**Titania **(queen of the faeries)----------Sarah_

_**Puck **(or Robin Goodfellow, serves Oberon)----------Skittery_

_**Faeries **(serves Titania)----------Jessa_

_**Bottom** (a weaver)----------David_

_**Quince** (a carpenter)----------Specs_

_**Flute **(a bellows-mender)----------Kid Blink_

_**Snug **(a joiner)----------Crutchy_

_**Egeus** (father to Hermia)----------Racetrack_

_**Thesus **(Duke of Athens)-----------Bumlets_

As I scanned the list, I reread the descriptions. _My character was honestly in love with Mush's character? And his character_ and _Jack's character were in love with Lindsey? And Spot was a fairy king?_ Yea, Medda knew us _really_ well.

I handed Medda's list back to her as she gathered us all together to discuss the play further. Everyone was still trying to comprehend what their characters were, and I could see the disappointment on Sarah's face when she found out she wasn't Jack's love interest. Not only that, she was a fairy queen to Spot the fairy king.

Medda regained our focus with a quick shout of "Quiet!" She then explained the play in the most basic summary she could come up with:

"Hermia and Lysander are in love, but Hermia's father Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius. Helena is in love with Demetrius. Oberon and Titania are in love,"

I again considered that I loved Mush. He was definitely attractive and sweet. But his character loved Lindsey. Oh well, so far David isn't attached to anyone.

Cutting Medda short, Jack interrupted her, "Spot's character is in love with Sarah's?"

Annoyed, Medda sighed and explained. "Yes, Jack. It's a Shakespeare play. He wrote about love stories. Anyway, Oberon and Titania are in love, but they constantly fight."

Medda emphasized the last word for Jack and paused to allow for any further protests. Seeming satisfied with that fact that they fought, Jack simply nodded for her to continue.

"Oberon over hears the lover's problems and asks his servant, Puck, to sprinkle a magical love juice in their eyes so that when they wake up, they will fall in love with the first live creature that they see.

_Skittery is playing Spot's servant? _I don't know them too well, but with what Jack and David have told me, I don't see that being a good mix.

"Puck follows the orders, but accidentally mixes them up. Lysander and Demetrius both fall in love with Helena and want nothing to do with Hermia. Hermia is rightfully angry, and Helena thinks it is all a trick to spite her.

_Great, I'm playing a paranoid, insane girl with two crazy people in love with her. What's better is that Mush and Jack are the ladies men of the group. And they both want me! Or their characters want my character…_

"Meanwhile, Bottom, Flute, and Snug are preparing a play under Quince's direction. They plan to perform _Pyramus and Thisbe_, a well-known play from Shakespeare's time. Bottom, however, acts like quite a Prima Donna. Puck witnesses this and turns him into a donkey, because he is such an ass."

_David is playing someone who turns into an ass? David, as an ass? Well, he was going to be a showgirl. David, the showgirl with an ass. _I let that thought roll around in my head as I glanced at David. His brow was furrowed as if he was trying to understand how he got cast as an ass. I was sure I could come up with a good explanation for him if he couldn't figure it out for himself.

Meanwhile, Medda was still continuing with her explanation. "On the other side of the forest, Titania is angry after her fight with Oberon. She has her fairies sing her to sleep. Finding Titania and wanting to mess with her, Oberon sprinkles the love juice into her sleeping eyes. However, when Titania awakes, the first thing she lays eyes on is Bottom as an ass. She then falls madly in love with Bottom."

Sarah_ has to fall in love with _David_? No way. No fucking way._

"Eventually, Oberon decides to set things straight and fixes all the spells so that he and Titania are again in love, Hermia and Lysander are in love, and Helena and Demetrius are in love.

_So I_ do _end up with Mush. Interesting._

"Finally, Quince and his actors perform their play in front of the lovers, who do not enjoy it and make fun of it. In the end, everyone leaves and Puck delivers a final speech."

As Medda finishes, I can tell that everyone's minds are spinning. We had just heard a two hour play in two minutes, and there was a lot to comprehend. Not to mention that we were all listening for our character's name to be mentioned. From the overview, I gathered that Medda was correct in her original description to me: Helena was a desperate whore.

So now that we all had our roles and knew the story of the play, proper rehearsals could begin.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_Lindsey McDonnell/Apple belongs to Lute. Jessa Rhian/Stress belongs to Stress. Thanks girls! And I really did choose those because they were the most outgoing according to the descriptions. Hermia really is supposed to be short, so that's why Lindsey got it. Stress, I just love seeing Jessa being four different characters. Bear with me. I'll try to get her in there more. _

_Points to anyone who can recognize the Shakespeare reference inside the story that isn't referring to _A Midsummer Night's Dream._ And points to anyone who knows the next part of Jacques speech. And for that matter, points to anyone who even knows what I'm talking about. Which, for disclaimer's sake, Shakespeare still owns._

_I know that the plot hasn't completely started yet; there is a lot of introduction stuff before it can start. You can't have cast bonding and rehearsals unless you know what you're doing! Thanks guys, please review. Reviews make me happy ;)._

**Thanks again to my beta readers!**

**-Cookie**


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